PROF. RICHARD G. HOVANNISIAN TO PRESENT ILLUSTRATED LECTURE AT METRO-WEST CHURCH

March 11, 2011
The Armenian Church of the Holy Translators and the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) will present an illustrated lecture by Prof. Richard G. Hovannisian entitled "In Search of Armenian Cilicia," on Thursday, April 7, 2011, at 7:00 p.m., at the Church of the Holy Translators, 38 Franklin Street, Framingham, MA.

Dr. Hovannisian is the Armenian Educational Foundation Professor of Modern Armenian History at the University of California, Los Angeles.
He is the author of the four-volume history The Republic of Armenia, Armenia on the Road to Independence, and has edited and contributed to more than twenty books including The Armenian Image in History and Literature, The Armenian Genocide in Perspective, The Armenian Genocide:
History, Politics, Ethics, The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times, Remembrance and Denial, Looking Backward, Moving Forward, and eight volumes on historic Armenian cities and provinces, including the recently-published Armenian Constantinople, co-edited by Hovannisian and Simon Payaslian. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia in 1990.

After traveling through much of historic Western Armenia in 2006 (presented in a talk at the Church of the Holy Translators in 2009), Prof. Richard Hovannisian returned to Asia Minor, this time as historian-guide of a tour organized by NAASR and led by Mr. Armen Aroyan.

Beginning with the rock-hewn Orthodox cave churches of Cappadocia, the group traveled to Caesarea/Gesaria, Talas, Evereg-Fenese, Chomakhlu, and over the Taurus Mountains to Hadjin, Sis, Adana, Tarsus, Mersin, Selefke, Dortyol, Antioch, Musa Dagh, Killis, Aintab, Zeitun, and Marash. Scenes from these former vibrant centers of Armenian life will be shown and discussed by Professor Hovannisian in this special Boston-area presentation.

Reception and Book Sale Following Discussion

Following the discussion there will be a reception and a number of Prof.
Hovannisian's books will be available for purchase. The Armenian Church of the Holy Translators is located close to the intersection of routes 135 and 126 in Framingham. For directions, visit www.armenianchurchofmetrowest.org.

More information about the lecture is available by contacting NAASR at 617-489-1610 or hq@naasr.org, or the Church of the Holy Translators at 508-875-0868.

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Belmont, Mass.

March 11, 2011
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AUTHOR MICHAEL BOBELIAN TO SPEAK AT TUFTS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE COMMEMORATION
March 9, 2011



Tufts University, the Darakjian-Jafarian Chair in Armenian History, the Department of History, and the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) will sponsor the annual Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide at Tufts on Tuesday, April 12, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. The Tufts event will feature a lecture by Michael Bobelian, author of the acclaimed Children of Armenia: A Forgotten Genocide and the Century-Long Struggle for Justice (Simon & Schuster, 2009). Bobelian's lecture will be entitled "America and the Armenian Genocide: The Quest for Justice from Wilson to Obama."

The commemoration and lecture will take place in Goddard Chapel on Tufts' Medford, MA, campus. A reception and book signing will follow in the Coolidge Room in nearby Ballou Hall.

In his talk, Bobelian will explain how and why the Genocide disappeared from memory and reveal the Armenian response to Turkey's recalcitrant denial of its crimes, a journey started in street protests that ultimately ended up in the halls of Congress. In doing so, he will present how America, once the champion of the Armenians, became Turkey's closest ally and the central battleground in the decades-old Armenian campaign for justice. The United States was the greatest champion of the Genocide's victims, with President Woodrow Wilson and other American leaders advocating for humanitarian and political assistance. The U.S.
sent $116 million ($1.5 billion in current value) in aid to Armenian victims, the first major international humanitarian aid movement in history.

After this immediate support, however, the atrocities were wiped from public consciousness and the perpetrators were never held accountable.
This veil of silence was so absolute and lasted so many years that an event widely acknowledged in its time became known as the "Forgotten Genocide."

Bobelian's Children of Armenia has been praised in several national publications, including the Washington Post, Foreign Affairs Magazine, the Washington Times, and the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Michael Berenbaum, former project director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum called the book "A powerful and provocative work." In his review of Children of Armenia, UCLA Professor Richard Hovannisian simply said: "The book is captivating."

Bobelian is a journalist, lawyer, and author whose work has coverd issues ranging from corporate wrongdoing to foreign affairs. Hisarticles have appeared in Forbes.com, Legal Affairs Magazine, and the Washington Monthly. He has also appeared on C-Span's BookTV, NPR's Leonard Lopate Show, and NPR New Hampshire. Michael has delivered lectures at several universities, including MIT, UC Berkeley, and Columbia University.

More information about the lecture is available by calling 617-489-1610, e-mailing hq@naasr.org, or writing to NAASR, 395 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA 02478; or by contacting Prof. McCabe at ina.mccabe@tufts.edu.


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Belmont, MA

Press Release
National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR)
395 Concord Ave.
Belmont, MA 02478
Tel.: 617-489-1610
E-mail: hq@naasr.org

NAASR